It happened midway through the third quarter, with the Sixers up 20. The horn rang, Markelle Fultz loped onto the court, and Ben Simmons stayed right where he was. Granted, the place where Simmons was standing was the foul line, where he preparing to shoot a couple of free throws. But even after the league’s best rookie made one of two, the Sixers bench remained motionless as play continued.
This was a significant development, as interesting a moment as can possibly occur in the second half of a blowout against one of the league’s worst teams. Standing between the Sixers and the end of the regular season were 2-1/2 quarters that would decide what kind of role Fultz would occupy come playoff time.